Pitstop #1-- THE BEACON

If you have been in Spartanburg any length of time, you know what The Beacon is all about- sweet tea, aplentys, curb side hops, and one of the best dairy bars around! This drive-in got its roots by an enterprising restauranteur, John White. Little did he know on opening day, Thanksgiving, 1946 what his drive-in would later become. This icon of Spartanburg stands 66 years later catering to the "future generations" that started it all.

Beacon Factoids:

The Beacon uses the following items in preparing its meals:
* Three tons of onions per week
* Three tons of potatoes per week
* Four tons of beef, chicken, and seafood per week

The Beacon is the largest single seller of iced tea in the U.S. We go through 3,000 pounds of sugar per week making 62,500 gallons per year (that's enough to fill 24 tanker trucks)!

Travel Journal- Soooo, what a fun way to start our staycation.... at an ICE CREAM BAR! The kids were pumped, and honestly so was I! I thought we would do something unique and totally a Beacon specialty- the "Pigs Dinner". I remember being a kid myself, piled up in the back of my Aunt's wood paneled Pinto heading to the Beacon with a half dozen paper plates and plastic spoons, to share some ice cream. The memories shared between cousins, laughing and holding on (no one wore seat belts back then, and we were in the hatchback of that old car). The anticipation of seeing this ooey chocolate sauced, whipped cream mountain was more than a kid could bear! =)
      I primed my little ones as we made our way through town, giving them every adjective to describe what we were about to undertake. As we walked into the Beacon they were all smiles as we headed to the counter to make our order. I am sure they get fewer requests for this extravagant sundae than they do a traditional banana split, and in some way, as we placed our order, we felt pride. It was as if it were a DARE to order and eat this monstrosity- and we were up to the challenge.
     The desert itself is a Banana Split on steroids. Ten scoops, roughly the size of a softball, piled high atop a bed of banana slices. This foundation is then embellished with chocolate sauce, strawberry, and pineapple topping, whipped cream (I literally think they used an entire can) sprinkles, and about half a jar of cherries. As they make and bring this "heaven on a plate" to you, the attention of everyone in line after you is focused on what you have. I made sure that my kids were surrounding me so they would not think I was eating this all by myself!
      As we made our way to the table, carrying this 20 pound tray we were all giddy with excitement. I took all of our individual plates and started dividing the treat into *equal shares*. (trust me... no one would let the other have an unfair portion!) What started out as a 16" mountain, through many oohhhhs and ahhh'sss and mmmm'ssss, ended with a bare plate with a few lone sprinkles floating around in a puddle of leftover melted ice-cream. The best treat for me was watching three kiddos, smiles spread across their faces, with now a memory to last THEIR lifetime....